The Girl who Asked Too Many Questions
by Jrosethehuntress
Summary: Sequel to The Girl who Loved Russia. UN translator Kaitlyn Carmichael has traveled to England in order to investigate the disappearance of her friend. However, instead she falls down the rabbit hole and into the lap of everyone's favorite green-eyed British Nation. Hive is on the move and a new romance unfolds, but it't not easy loving a broken man.
1. Chapter 1

"So, what brings you to London then miss?" the cab driver asked as he drove through the busy streets.

"I'm here looking for a friend." the girl seated in the back replied before resuming looking out of the window. The driver regarded the girl curiously, she seemed like a nice girl but she was dressed a little… bizarrely. Granted, not the worst he's ever had in his cab.

Kaitlyn Carmichael had just gotten off of the plane at London Heathrow and was now on her way to Cambridge where her friend Anna worked. Four weeks ago, Anna had been invited to Moscow, Russia, to attend a seminar and she had gone missing. It had taken weeks for Kaitlyn to get a few days leave from her job in order to come to England in order to find any trace of her. Anna had been in an emotional funk lately when she was separated from her boyfriend due to… 'special circumstances,' and Kate wanted to find any clue as to her friend's whereabouts. Starting with her apartment in Cambridge.

"Is your friend American just like you?" the driver asked.

"She's a dual citizen, more British if anything." Kate replied with a smile.

"And you mentioned she went to Cambridge? That's impressive alright!"

"Yes, she's a professor of Military History."

"And what about yourself?"

"Me? I'm actually a translator for the UN." Yes, all of her life, Kaitlyn has been fascinated by the power of language. From the moment she could speak, she loved to talk and communicate with people what she wanted and how she felt at any given time. Her parents used to love to watch Masterpiece Theatre on PBS whenever it was on, showing British period dramas and live showings of theatre from the West End. When she was little she would sit with her family and just listen to the way the people on the screen clipped their contestants, rounded their vowels and simply wove magic with how they spoke. Any words she liked, she would repeat them in real life, often times in the wrong way, leading to her family buying her a dictionary as soon as she could read so that she could look up any words she wanted to know the meaning to.

Her dictionary was her most prized possession, even long after she lost her parents and was hoping between foster homes. It was then that she started dressing a little differently, a little darkly, and became a sort of Goth. Needless to say, that didn't make her very popular with toher children or foster parents. When she was eight, she was adopted by a lovely Italian couple. They adored her and she them, and it was then that she found her talents in learning different languages. At her insistent begging, they taught her the musical sounding language until she was near fluent within the year, at the same time she first met the war history obsessed Anna while participating in a drama group. A lot of the other kids made fun of her for her strange dress, using large words in everyday speech and for speaking italian whenever she was angry, but she found a kindred spirit in Anna. The moment she heard Anna's slight British inflection of speech, she knew they would be friends for life.

It was after the death of their dear friend Ian that Kate anointed herself as the official caretaker of their little group of friends. She would do her absolute best to make sure all of her friends were happy, even if they didn't ask for her help part of the time. Throughout her schooling, she ended up teaching herself Spanish, French, Latin (of all things, she taught herself Latin) and had started teaching herself German by the time she graduated high school and entered a prestigious university in New York. She was recruited to assist a translator straight out of undergrad school and had recently just been promoted to being a high level translator herself. She couldn't have been happier. That is, except for one thing.

At the time she was promoted, her friend Anna had been transported into their favorite tv show. Hetalia Axis Powers.

It wasn't any surprise that such a well read, well spoken and multilingual person such as Kate would also fall under the Hetalia spell. Often times she questioned the sanity of her friends when they chose their favorite characters, because in her mind there was no greater character than England himself. She would deny it if any of her friends told anyone that she worshiped him, but it would be close to the truth. Anna would often get annoyed when Kate would pester with questions about the character and the history of Britain, especially when a certain history blurb came up on the show that she didn't understand. It wasn't just the accent oh no, though it would make her melt every time he spoke, but it was his gentlemanly behavior combined with his ruffian tendencies that entranced her. To her, he was a complex, unique soul that she wanted to connect with and unravel bit by bit. She was so jealous when Anna contacted her and the two other friends in their group, sisters Tris and Kimberly, and told them how she ended up going to that world and meeting England himself.

Kate felt for Anna when she was somehow sent back though, Anna having gotten intimate with everyone's favorite totalitarian Nation Russia whom Anna had adored. She did her best to cheer her up, even saving up to travel to England with Tris and Kimberly in order to see her get her World History PhD. Those few days in England with her friends had been some of the best in her life. So as the taxi rolled up to Anna's apartment, Kate sighed sadly as everything was coated in a rather negative light. The fact that it was raining didn't help either.

"My, that is impressive! Well, here we are miss. I hope you find your friend." the driver said, getting out of the car to get Kate's trunk out of the boot. Kate thanked him and paid him the right amount of cash plus tip before walking up the steps to the apartment. The landlord sent her a pair of keys beforehand so that she could stay in Anna's room as it was paid for until the end of the year, so she immediately went up to the room to escape the pouring rain. The landlord welcomed her and escorted her up to the room, remarking how strange the whole affair was with the previous tenant.

The landlord unlocked the room for her and helped her move her stuff into the room, before bading her goodbye and leaving her in the abandoned apartment. Kate sighed as she took in the sad sight, dust covered the entire space and the echo of someone once living her recently remained in the air. Everything was as Anna left it, just as Kate remembered from when she visited.

"Where are you Anna?" she asked the empty room. Of course, answer came. Kate rolled her suitcase into Anna's room and fell face forward on to the fluffy sheets. Jet lag was a serious bitch… rolling on to her back, Kate was content to snooze for a bit, until she saw that her eyeliner had left a slight stain. Perfect. Huffing in annoyance, Kate proceeded to get up from the bed and decided to get undressed and take a shower. She still felt gross from travelling so long without bathing.

After her shower she redressed in her long black vintage nightgown and tied her long dark brown hair in a loose braid after brushing it her customary fifty times. The shower had woken her up some, so she decided to go make herself a cup of tea. She'll never forgive Anna for getting her addicted to the stuff. As the kettle boiled she walked over to Anna's small bookshelf that sat next to her couch near the TV. A lot of the books were historical, with one shelf reserved for fictional books. It was this shelf that Kate looked through, wondering which books Anna might have had that she didn't already read. One title popped out to her in general.

"You still kept this? Oh Anna…" Kate whispered as she took the book from it's place. _Alice Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass…_ Kate had given Anna this book for her twelfth birthday. It was a shared favorite between the two girls. Standing up, Kate flipped to the part where Alice fell down the rabbit hole.

"...But, when the Rabbit actually took a watch out of its waistcoat-pocket, and looked at it, and then hurried on, Alice started to her feet, for it flashed across her mind that she had never before seen a rabbit with either a waistcoat-pocket, or a watch to take out of it, and burning with curiosity, she ran across the field after it, and was just in time to see it pop down a large rabbit-hole under the hedge…" Kate read aloud, smiling wistfully at the strangeness of the book and of the memories she shared with Anna. Unbeknownst to her, a large hole seemed to appear in the floor as she spoke, slowly growing bigger and bigger as she read.

"...In another moment down went Alice after it, never once considering how in the world she was to get out again. The rabbit-hole went straight on like a tunnel for some way, and then dipped suddenly down, so suddenly that Alice had not a moment to think about stopping herself before she found herself falling down what seemed to be a very deep well…." Kate kept reading, the hole behind her growing larger until it stopped just inches away from her feet. The kettle started to whistle, prompting Kate to stop reading and turn to take it off of the stove.

Only to fall right into the dark hole, screaming as the abyss swallowing her and the book before suddenly closing around them, vanishing as if it had never even existed.

Leaving the room once again empty as the kettle continued to boil.

MEANWHILE IN THE HETALIA VERSE

It was business as usual in the world of Hetalia. Hive activity had been near non-existant, so meetings these days consisted of the usual topics and squabbles. Well, almost usual.

Anna Colins, formerly known as Historia in this world, sat next to her boyfriend Ivan Braginsky, known more commonly as the Nation of Russia. Their hands were interlocked on Ivan's knee, Anna absentmindedly stroking his hand with her thumb as they watched the proceedings. The topic of today's meeting was once again Global Warming. However, one thing was blaringly wrong.

England wasn't jumping at any opportunity to shoot down any of America's hair brained schemes nor jumping at any chance to shoot down France in general. Anna regarded him as he seemed to be totally spaced out, barely even taking notes as countries gave their ideas and presentations on the issue. As Historia, she knew that historically speaking this was cause for alarm.

"…Britain. Hey, Britain! HEY!" America yelled, snapping both England and Anna's attention to the front. The chaotic din had gone quiet as everyone looked at England as he blinked out of his spaced out funk.

"Bloody hell America, what do you want?" England spat out, characteristically annoyed at his former charge.

"Dude, I asked ya a question. Were you even paying attention?" America pouted, though his brow was furrowed in concern. England flushed a little in embarrassment as he struggled to find an excuse when Germany cleared his throat.

"Perhaps ve should take a break, seeing as some people are loosing their focus in this important meeting…" he glared at England as he said this before getting up followed immediately by Italy, other Nations following suit.

"Strange for Mister England to not pay attention, da?" Ivan remarked, Anna nodding in agreement.

"Yeah. Can you get me some coffee love?" she asked Ivan, leaning up to kiss him on the cheek. Ivan looked down at her and smiled.

"Of course, anything for my little sunflower." he exclaimed before kissing her forehead and leaving to get her requested beverage. Meanwhile, Anna got up and walked over to England, who was rubbing his forehead and looking quite distressed. She took a seat next to him and smiled.

"Hey Arthur, are you feeling okay?" she asked. Arthur turned to look at her and smiled, but it didn't quite reach his eyes. Up close, Anna noticed that he had dark circles under his eyes, as if he hadn't slept in days.

"Hello there love. Yes, I'm quite alright, just a bit tired is all." he dismissed. Anna frowned a bit before giving a sympathetic smile.

"Are you still having nightmares?" she asked quietly. Ever since she returned to Hetalia, Arthur had been plagued by constant nightmares and night terrors. He had told Anna who immediately sensed when something was wrong, and eventually mentioned it to France and America, but for the most part was secretive about it.

"I'm fine, really." Arthur insisted.

"You know, the offer still stands if you want me to Exhume them." Anna stated. 'Exhume' was her name for her ability to read the memories of Nations (their history) and live through the pain with them so that they don't weigh so heavily on their minds. Arthur shook his head.

"Thank you, but no. Go on, I'll meet up with you in a moment." he smiled. Anna sighed but nodded, not wanting to push the issue before getting up before going to join the others in the break room. Arthur waited until she and most of the other Nations had gone before leaning back in his chair and sighing heavily.

He was far from alright.

These nightmares, weren't just relivings of some of his worst memories. He hadn't told Anna this because he didn't want her going to America, Russia or someone else about this, but these dreams… were more like horrid twistings and retelling of some of the darkest moments of his life.

And of those, there were infinite.

He sighed again as his thoughts wandered to the young girl, newly inducted as one of them. He wondered who the other three Culture Personifications would be briefly, and he tried to think when Hive would come out of hiding to strike again. Anna had dealt them a serious blow when she first came here, rescuing him and a few others from torture and saved France from being seriously wounded from a snipers bullet.

The bullet.

Those nightmares began a few days after the bullet exited Anna and flew into his left shoulder. That whole ordeal resulted in Anna being sent back to her world at least in mind as her body healed, much to the fury and horror of Russia. He swore that would be the end of him that day.

Could it all be connected somehow?

His musings were interrupted when his senses picked up the a tingle in the air, a tell-tale sign of magic being performed somewhere. He furrowed his brow as he sat up only to look up suddenly as a giant black hole opened in the ceiling, the sound of a girl screaming getting closer. Before he had a chance to react, a girl with pale-peach skin, long dark brown hair tied in a loose braid and dressed in a black flannel nightgown that looked to be from his Victorian era, fell from the hole and right into his lap. He struggled to catch her and keep her upright as the wind was knocked out of him, the hole vanishing as if it had never been there.

"Oh… my god… thank you so much… for catching.." the girl panted as she grabbed for his shoulders and looked up at him, stopping mid sentence as frightened forest green met surprised and curious emerald ones, "...me?"

"Of course madam. Um, tell me, who are you?" Arthur asked.

"Kaitlyn… Kaitlyn Carmichael… who are you sir?" the girl asked in a tentative voice.

"I'm Britain." he replied. The girl nodded slowly.

"Oh… hello…" she said.

 **AN: Hello loves! That's right, I'm back and writing a new story in my little Hetalia/OC series! New girl, new pair, new adventure! Please review and favorite, because this one is going to be a doozey ;) This is a sequel to my story to The Girl Who Loved Russia, so if you haven't read that yet please do, otherwise some of this may not make sense. Enjoy!**


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Ello! Back with a new chappie! Enjoy!**

For a moment, Kate and Arthur just stared at each other. A tentative silence hung over the room until Kate's mind caught up with her body and she leapt off of his lap.

"Oh my dear lord… I must be dreaming, I fell asleep on the bed and now I'm just suffering from jet lag!" Kate ranted as she looked anywhere but Arthur.

"Hang on there, are you Anna's friend Kaitlyn?" Arthur asked, going up in an effort to calm the young woman down. It seemed they had similar reactions to being teleported.

"Someone call my- KATE?!" both persons in the room turned to see Anna standing by the door, hot cup of coffee in her hand as she stared wide eyed at the girl in the night gown.

"A-Anna? You're alive?" Kate muttered in disbelief. It was so odd seeing Anna animated again- hang on, what did SHE look like? And Anna was alive… in Hetalia…

"Y-Yeah. Oh my god, I can't believe you're actually here! I missed you so-!" Anna exclaimed, setting her coffee down on the table and running over to Kaitlyn in order to give her a hug when-

*WHAM*

Anna lay face down on the floor, sporting a lump on her head while Kate stood above her with a book in her hand. An angry tick formed over her grow as she grit her teeth.

"Four. Weeks. You've been here, for four weeks, while everyone back home thought _you were dead?!_ " Kate demanded angrily as Anna sat up rubbing her head and wincing in pain.

"Is that how long it's been…? Wow." she asked more to herself.

"I was _worried_ about you, I flew all the way to fucking England to find you, and all this time you've been here! Annabelle Colins I can't believe you sometimes!" Kate threw her hands up in the air in frustration as Anna sent a glare her way before getting up and dusting herself off.

"Kate I am sorry for making you worry, but believe me, if I could have contacted you guys I would have." she defended.

"And I'm supposed to believe that? You stupid, selfish- I swear to god you have no consideration for anyone else but yourself!"

"It's the truth! Look me in the eyes and I will tell you oh my god what is up with your hair?" Anna point just to the right of Kate's face which caused her to blink in confusion as other countries started to file in and behold the scene before them. Another one showed up?

"Aw man, did another pop up? Dude, England you got tell me, was it cool like last time?" America asked excitedly. Throughout this whole time England had been staring wide eyed at the exchange between the two friends, unsure what to make of it all.

"Well, it was certainly a surprise…" He answered.

"What is she talking about my hair?" Kate asked as she looked around at the other countries. There was America, Germany, Spain, Italy and Romano, and-

"Oh hon hon hon, zhis must me my lucky day, oui? It has been my dream for a beautiful lady to randomly appear dressed in lingerie~" before France could finish his perverted thought, a blade suddenly appeared and curled around his neck.

"France, you even think of trying anything funny I will happily sever that perverted head from your body." Anna threatened in a monotone voice, an evil aura surrounding her person as she held her scythe closer to France's neck. France started to tremble and quickly scuttled away, hiding behind England who batted him away in annoyance. Anna smirked proudly while Kate merely rolled her eyes.

"Alright, glad to see you're back to your usual, over protective, sadistic self Anna. But again, what is up with my hair?" Kate asked again, reaching up to feel around her head. Anna at this point smiled a bit and tried to bite back a laugh.

"Someone, hand her a mirror!" Hungary did so and Kate got a good look at herself. Her hair finally lied on her head in gentle waves, smoother and glossier than ever before. Instead of a boring dark brown, it looked almost raven colored. She swore her skin was paler now, but still with a touch of peach color that kept her from looking too pale. Her eyes were suddenly more expressive and richly colored, but now she understood why it was Anna was laughing about her hair.

One strand stuck out and curled from the right side of her head.

"Dear god I have an Italy Curl…" she muttered.

"Actually, that curl is going to the right. You have a Romano Curl missy." Anna smirked, slowly reaching up to grab the curl with the clear intention of yanking it. Romano in question narrowed his eyes but said nothing.

"If you want to lose that hand, by all means go for it." Kate remarked dryly, glaring at Anna from the side. Anna retreated her hand and smiled mischievously.

"Ah, you know me! Besides, that explains so much now!"

"Explains what?"

"Why your attitude is so shit sometimes!" Anna winked, Kate whacked her upside the head again with the book while Romano get an angry tick on his head.

"Vuoi stare zitto già?!*" Kate (and Roma) yelled. Italy and Romano perked at hearing their native language come from this new girl as Anna rubbed the new bump on her head.

"Christ Kate, no need to go all Google Translate on me!" Anna reprimanded.

"Oh hush up, History Channel. Besides, you're certainly one to talk seeing as you have the Iggy brows!" Kate pointed at Anna's face while Anna slapped a hand over them, blushing slightly. She was still sensitive about her brows even though she was proud of their heritage.

"Shut the front door, I just trimmed them! Besides, I wouldn't think that would be a problem with you seeing as-" Kate smacked a hand over Anna's mouth to keep her from talking while Arthur just looked even more confused.

"Okay, that's quite enough out of you!"

"Um, dudes, can either explain what's going on here? We're a little confused here." America interjected. Both girls started and looked around at all of the awkwardly blinking Nations looking at them. Kate was the first to clear her throat and smiled.

"My apologies. Hello everyone, my name is Kaitlyn Carmichael, but please just call me Kate." she introduced herself with a little curtsey, causing Anna to roll her eyes despite the smile on her face. How like her friend to go all "ladylike" after she had just whacked her over the head with a book and yelled at her in italian.

"Kate? So you are Anna's friend then?" Arthur made the connection and stepped forward. Anna slung and arm around Kate's shoulder and beamed.

"Yes sir! The one and the same!"

"Are you sure you two are friends? You seem to argue a lot…" America asked. Kate shrugged.

"Believe me this is normal, if we don't insult each other at least once a day the universe could very well collapse." Anna nodded in agreement.

"Vee~ ciao bella! I was so surprised that you spoke my language, are you part italian?" Italy popped up near them, flowers floating around his head.

"W-Well, my grandparents did immigrate from Italy yes, but I'm American for the most part. Sorry that I'm not as interesting as Anna here…"

"Oh come off that Kate, you speak at least eight languages!" Anna cheered, causing Kate to blush slightly.

"Ten actually…"

"Te- ten?! Holy Mother Russia Kate, which ones now?"

"Irish and Scottish Gaelic, currently learning Welsh." Kate smiled proudly while Anna and a few other countries looked at her in confusion. Arthur and the other members of the British Isles on the other hand were quite impressed.

"Um, why?" America asked. Kate shrugged and smiled sheepishly.

"Because it's fun and I thought it sounds pretty?"

"Well, I could only wonder why it is you were sent here Kate." Anna remarked with a sarcastic smile. Kate looked at her in confusion.

"How do you mean?" At this point Arthur stepped forward and offered her a seat, which she took rather slowly.

"What Anna means to say is, is that you were brought here for a very special purpose much like she was." he started to explain, rather cryptically. Kate's attention was fixed on him as he spoke and she nodded slowly.

"G-Go on?"

"Well, there's a story about four female Personifications that make up the pillars of Culture itself. Anna is one of those Personifications, representing History. If what Anna says about you is true, then you very well may come represent Language as the second Culture Personification." as he spoke Kate grew more and more wide eyed with disbelief. Her? A Personification? Apparently, her shock and disbelief showed on her face as Anna came up to place a hand on her shoulder.

"Yeah, I know it sounds crazy, believe I've been there. But, at least you know sooner rather than later hun. It came as an even bigger shock to me." she comforted, glancing up at Arthur briefly who shrugged a tad bashfully. She smiled, no hard feelings.

"B-But that's insane! I'm just a normal human! With a job, a family- I can't just leave all that to galavant around in some TV sh-!"

"SHHHH! Don't say that here! Japan will have another existential crisis!" Anna said in a quiet voice.

"But-"

"Hey, I know it's a lot to take in, but like it or not we were brought here for a reason. Let me tell you this, the sooner you accept that part the easier things will be, trust me." Kate let out a heavy sigh and rubbed her forehead.

"Questo è folle…" she muttered to herself.

"Well, perhaps you just need to rest. Anna, can you take her to my place so that she can rest a bit?" Arthur suggested. Kate looked up with a blush and shook her head.

"N-No no, I'm fine really! I wouldn't want to impose!"

"I insist, you look positively knackered. You wouldn't be imposing at all love." Arthur smiled warmly at her, for an American she was quite polite and well spoken. "Besides, I'd think you'd want to get into some more proper clothes than just a night gown. Here," he took off his jacket and handed it to her, "you can borrow this until I get back, alright?" Kate looked up at him wide-eyed and nodded, taking the jacket and wrapping it around her shoulders. To be honest, she was starting to feel a bit cold before.

"Thank you, you're very kind." she said softly, smiling up at him.

Now, let the dear reader realize that in that moment, the pair of them felt a spark pass between their gazes. Neither knew it at the time, and perhaps to this day they will deny anything about it being 'love at first sight,' they were both too sensible to truly believe in something so simple. Though perhaps, they wanted to and they experienced something like it at that instant. If they didn't feel it, Anna certainly saw it.

Both parties were like siblings to her, Kate being her rock and source of solace during one of the darkest moments of her life. Arthur had become her mentor and dearest friend in these last few weeks. Being the Personification and Guardian of History, she was able to understand him on a deeper level than most could. That didn't mean he opened up to her completely, oh god no… but he was starting to crack.

The last part had both negative and positive connotations. Negative because she knew how damaged he had become over the centuries, and the recent events seemed to be breaking the camel's back as it were. Positive, because now Kaitlyn was here, and there was nothing that you could hide from her. If you were hurting, Kate was the person who could heal you. Anna had the faintest trace of a smirk grow on her face as an idea struck her.

Whipping out her mobile, she sent a text to two certain Nations who could help her.

[TEXT: Frog, Tomato Weirdo]: England+Kate matchmaking scheme, you guys in?

[TEXT: Grey Lamb]: Mais oui cherie!

[TEXT: cabeza caliente]: I don't know amiga…

[TEXT: Tomato Weirdo]: I'll get you pictures of Lovi dressed in a female sexy cop's dress.

[TEXT: cabeza caliente]: Si, I'm in!

"Well then Kate, let's get ye out of here!" Anna took Kate by the arm and proceeded to lead her out of the room. Kate nodded and sent a wave back to everyone as she left. She was here, in Hetalia, reunited with her best friend…

And she had finally met England. She could die happy now.

Translation: *- Will you just shut up?

**- This is crazy...

 **AN: Yay! I can't wait to see how this relationship evolves...**


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: *peeks out from behind a rock* Hey guys... I'm back! Sorry I've been no show for a while, inspiration has been nil as of late, but it's back now! I'm also super busy with class and such so my brain is just fried. But, I have started an RP blog on Tumblr! I have created a Hetalia OC based off of Northern Ireland so if you want to come RP with me, follow me at shamrockprincessofsevenwaters (you must be an RP blog). Okay, shameless promo done, read the chappie!**

The drive to England's home had been interesting to say the least. Anna wasn't the most talented driver, even on the right side of the road, and it didn't help that Kate was an awestruck fangirl all the way to his house. Seeing the world in an animated light planted the stars in her eyes, and even though Anna would get annoyed when Kate would pull on her left arm in the middle of shifting gears to point something out, she was happy that her friend was enjoying herself.

Hell, she was happy that her friend was here period!

Kate was through the roof with happiness.

As the pulled up to England's home, hearts and stars danced in her eyes as she took in the quaint Victorian era style townhouse located in an isolated location in the Gloucestershire county (Americans, just look it up). It wasn't the largest house she had seen, but it was quite old she could tell. Anna told her that it was first built three years after Queen Victoria was coronated, commissioned by the Queen herself for the living expenses of her Nation. Arthur had given Anna a key, seeing as she liked to visit often for tea, so when they pulled into the driveway Anna unlocked the door and ushered Kate inside.

"Hang on just a moment…!" Kate gasped as she took in the interior. There was just no way-! She quickly ran back outside and stood back a few feet, taking in the exterior. It looked normal enough! She ran back inside and stood slack jawed, Anna merely smirking as she watched. Was this how she reacted when she found out that-

"It's bigger on the inside!" Kaitlyn exclaimed. Anna let out a hearty laugh as she closed the door behind them. Indeed, while on the outside it looked like simple yet elegant town house, on the inside was the equivalent of a grand manor. The halls were lined with dark wood with intricate moldings, brightly lit with antique lamps. The floors were also wood, but covered in old, intricate rugs that looked to be decades old. Kate felt like she had stepped into a Bronte or Austen novel.

"Indeed, Arthur got the idea back in 1963 and he's been adding to it ever since. Took me a little while to get used to finding anything here. And don't get me started when he decides to rearrange everything on a whim, lord help us. I remember when I first arrived I needed France's help to find the kitchen." Anna remarked, leading the astounded Kate through the halls.

"Extraordinary... so, I'm not lost in a dream then, am I?" Kate asked. Anna shook her head.

"Nope. Don't you worry love, the thrill will fade soon enough, and pretty soon you'll feel right at home." she offered her friend a comforting smile. Kate returned the smile and stopped, pulling the redhead into a hug.

"I'm really glad to see you Anna… I missed you so much." she said quietly. Anna was surprised for a second before returning the embrace and smiling.

"I missed you too… isn't it great? Now we're both going to be Personifications!" she exclaimed excitedly. Kate let out a sigh and ran a hand through her hair.

"I wish you wouldn't remind me, I'm still having trouble wrapping my head around this…" she shook her head. Anna nodded sympathetically before she got an idea.

"Hey, I know what will take your mind off of it! Follow me!" she started walking quickly down the halls, Kate struggling to keep up with her friend. She made a note of all the twists and turns they made as to not get lost when all of the sudden the pair stopped in front of a pair of large mahogany double doors with ornate brass handles.

"Anna, what's this?" she asked. Anna merely smirked and pulled the doors open, waving her hand in an over exaggerated show man's style.

"Madam, I present to you…. Britain's Library!" In Kate's view, the entire room was shining and covered in sparkles, no doubt her eyes reflecting the same wonder and enchantment that she felt inside.

"Dio mio…" she exclaimed softly before she started floating, yes floating in chibi form, around the bookshelves, "Austen, Dickens, Bronte… Doyle, even Mark Twain? Hemingway? Hardy! They're all here-!" with that she started twirling around as images of books and authors danced behind her in the background. Anna simply stood there, a sweat drop forming on her brow as the upper part of her face became washed in blue. She let Kate have her moment for a little while longer before she walked up to Kate and stopped her twirling.

"Alright there Belle, calm yourself! There's a reason why I brought you here." she said, laughing as Kate blinked and quickly righted herself, embarrassed that she let herself go so far.

"I'm sorry, I just got a little excited for a moment. What is it?" she asked. Kate watched curiously as Anna disappeared among the bookshelves and returned a moment later with an ancient seeming tome cradled gently in her hands. Her eyes widened as Anna brought it closer, reaching out to gingerly stroke the green leather cover. A faded gold designed adorned it's front and the smell of age wafted into her sinuses. At her silent insistence, Anna handed the book over to her and Kate shook slightly with excitement. Only old books could make her feel this way.

"I found this a couple weeks ago. I was cataloging England's historical texts, which I still need to finish now that I'm talking about it, and I came across this hidden behind a few newer books. The thing is," Anna explained as she opened the book carefully to the first few pages, "I don't know what it says, and I was wondering if you could translate it." Kate saw that this book had been written by hand, each letter calligraphed and drawn to perfection across the parchment. Indeed the script seemed to be in some sort of archaic language, and she took the book to the side as she read a few of the words aloud.

"It looks like a form of Gaelic… perhaps Scots?" she wondered aloud. Anna peeked over her shoulder and frowned.

"Any idea what it says? It just looks like random scratches to me."

"I have a faint idea, I mean there's this line of script here that's pretty simple; _Mar cleite ar an ghaoth, rince tríd an aer…_ But the way this is written is strange, from what I can make out it seems as if there's a bunch of instructions written around it…" as Kate went on, both girls were oblivious when the gold text on the front started to glow and Anna started to mysteriously levitate into the air.

"...but it's a really fascinating book! I mean, based on some of these words and phrases I can make out, they almost seem like instructions for-"

"Magic?!" Anna yelled when she suddenly realized that she was now looking down at Kate rather than slightly up. Kate jumped back in surprise when she saw her friend levitating. What the hell?!

"Anna!? What's going on?" Kate asked, looking down at the book for answer. The text was now glowing and the words hard started to dance on the page. A magic book… of course it's a bloody magic book!

"I don't know, just get me down!" Anna kicked wildly in the air, having bad memories of being carried and tossed around via magic months ago. Plus, she was getting pretty high up from the ground and Britain's library had an extremely tall ceiling. Her fear of heights still hadn't recovered from the plane incident!

"A-Alright, just calm down!" Kate said frantically, quickly scanning the page for a phrase that would cut the spell, how had she managed to cast a spell anyways? A couple of the floating words came together and started to form a sentence when-

"What the bloody hell is going on here?!" the voice of England demanded loudly. Both girls jumped, Kate holding the book instinctively closer to her chest, accidently causing Anna to fly right into a bookshelf.

"OW!" the bookshelf wobbled under the force and started to topple. England reacted instantly, waving his hand and halting the falling bookshelf, books, and Anna, in place as if they were frozen in time as he marched over to Kate and wrenched the book from her hand. Kate watched in awe as his hands glowed gold and with a gentle wave, everything righted itself as if it had never been touched, Anna gently being lowered to the ground as stars flew around her head, her pupils now swirly-eyed from being whacked in the face...again.

Kate was awestruck as she watched England perform magic. He looked so… cool! For lack of a better word. The spell was broken (both the literal and figurative) when he turned to look at her with a questioning glare. She flushed furiously and started to sweat profusely.

"I'm so so sorry, I'm sorry, I don't know what happened I was just reading and she started floating-!" she rambled at an extremely fast pace, oblivious to the way Arthur was looking at her. She was just _reading?_ First off, he had no idea how she had gotten her hands on this book as it was supposed to be concealed by magic, second he had enchanted the words so that only a magic user could even make out the words in the book. To normal folks, the words just looked like random dashes and scratches made on parchment. Could it be-?

"Kate. Kate! Miss Kate!" he interrupted, halting the girl's tirade as she looked up at him with wide eyes. Arthur had to clear his throat, the look in her eyes combined with her slightly flushed face was simply- too adorable… Not that he would ever think nor admit that, god no! He shook his head slightly.

"It's quite alright love, I understand it was an accident. What I don't understand is how this was possible, by my reckoning it shouldn't be possible, unless…" he trailed off, unsure how to continue.

"Unless…?" Kate urged, curious as to where this was going. Anna finally sat up, still slightly swirly-eyed.

"Unless Katie here has got some magic powers or something?" she said with a goofy smirk, only to have another book thrown at her head.

"Don't call me Katie!" Kate yelled, an angry tick on her forehead. Arthur blinked but nodded.

"Um, yes... It's the only explanation I can think of at the moment." he replied. Kate looked up at him wide eyed with disbelief.

"B-But, how could that be? I-I mean, before I never… it's just not possible!"

"Kate," Anna said sitting up, rubbing the new bump on her head and sending her a pissed off glare, "we're in bloody Hetalia for fuck's sake, anything is possible, get used to it."

"What's with the attitude?" Kate asked, earning a deadpan glare from Anna.

"That's three times you've hit me in the head with a book, plus a bloody bookcase! That hurts ya know!" she yelled. Kate merely shrugged.

"Quit acting like such a cheeky twat then."

"Kate, what have I told you about using British slang, it just doesn't work for you."

"Oh, and why are you allowed to use it then?"

"I don't know, maybe because I'm _actually_ British?"

"You're only half British!"

"Yeah, which is more so than you!"

"Touché…"

"Hey, I have an idea. Arthur, why don't you teach Kate here how to use magic?" Anna's sudden question had both people jumping in shock.

"W-What?!" they chorused, causing them to look at each other briefly and then turn away blushing. Anna smirked slightly, it seems fate seemed to be giving her a headstart on her matchmaking scheme. Brilliant!

"Anna, I couldn't-!"

"I've never taken an-" the two started to say at the same time before Anna held up her hands.

"Think of it this way, we can't have an untrained mage going around, right? Next time she could send someone into something dangerous, like a lion's pit or France's house." Anna reasoned, Arthur nodding a little in agreement. If Kate did have powers, there could be complications later on… but could he really teach her?

"And Kate, come on, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity here! Go for it!" Kate flushed a deeper red at Anna's words and looked at England nervously.

"W-Well… I-It would be fun… if, you don't mind of course…" she said quietly. Arthur gave the girl a comforting smile.

"Indeed, perhaps it would be fun. It will be a lot of work, and it requires almost constant vigilance… but, I think that you can do quite well, at least from what Anna has told me. Very well, from now on, I shall be your teacher." he decided, the idea of it sounding less absurd by the moment. Kate blinked in surprise but nodded enthusiastically.

"Oh of course, I'd be honour sir!" she replied.

"Please, just call me Arthur, Miss Kate." Arthur insisted. Kate got an even deeper flush and nodded. She really did look quite cute- enough Arthur!

"A-Arthur… alright, then, you can just call me Kate." she said quietly, smiling up at him. Anna at the meantime was both happy and apprehensive over this new development. Happy because now they had an excuse to spend time together. Apprehensive because… well…

In her time at Hetalia, her personal experiences with magic hadn't been all that pleasant. So far, she had seen it used to hurt her friends, almost kill her beloved, and she was made into a psycho's personal ragdoll. Plus, there was that one incident when she witnessed as Arthur caused a convoy to explode behind them, quite violently in point of fact… the dark look in his eye still made her shiver. As Historia, people who used or practised magic, especially those believed to use the darker variety, usually met with an ill fate...

Don't be fooled dear reader, Anna cares for Arthur very much and she would do anything for him. She is just concerned for his mental well being at times. Perhaps Kate can sort some things out? Anna could only hope so.

"Right, so now that's all sorted, Kate I believe I was going to show you to your room?" Anna said, finally getting herself of the ground and dusting herself off. Kate nodded but was surprised when Arthur linked his arm with hers.

"Actually Anna, I will take the liberty if you wanted to go back to meet with Russia. He's been asking for you." Arthur replied. Kate watched with amusement as Anna flushed lightly and agreed, almost running out of the library as she pulled out her phone to call Ivan. Kate sighed happily at seeing her friend so in love and happy, she really did deserve it after all of the crap she went through.

Then she remembered that she was in a room alone with England.

"Shall we Kate?" Arthur asked politely, acting every bit the gentleman. Kate started but managed to smile and nod.

"Yes please, Arthur." With that, Arthur led her out of the library and up the stairs, showing her to a lovely room that was right next to Anna's old one from when she first arrived. When Arthur opened the door for her, Kate stood amazed as she took in what was essentially her dream room. The walls were painted a soft lilac with darker purple filigree designs painted into it, with various famous quotes and phrases written in black calligraphy dotted around the room. The bed was painted black wood with a canopy, looking both old and new at the same time with it's vintage cream sheets. An entire wall was dedicated to a black bookshelf filled row to row with books, and a window with a reading ledge was adjacent to it. Kate swore that she had truly died and gone to heaven.

"Do you like it?" Arthur asked, even though he knew that his house was meant to suit to his guests preferences, he felt the need to have her confirmation. Kate looked at him with grateful eyes and nodded.

"Yes, it's simply perfect. Thank you, Arthur." He wasn't sure, but for some reason the way she said his name just left him… dumbfounded. So sincere, so open…

So unlike him it made him feel sick to his stomach, though he didn't let it show.

"Ah yes, well, get some rest then love. You've had a trying day." he dismissed, moving to leave.

"Yes, good night! And, thank you for everything. It really means a lot that you did all this- oh wait, your jacket!" Kate ran after him and removed his jacket from her shoulders handing it back to him. She had nearly forgotten about that!

"Oh- thank you. And, goodnight." Arthur gave one last uncertain smile and nodded before he turned and walked away, a little too quickly mind you. If anyone had asked, he couldn't tell you what had gotten into him all of the sudden. He just felt so… unbalanced by the presence of this girl. While with Anna they quickly established a mutual respect for each other and she easily felt like a sibling to him (one that wouldn't try to kill him if given the chance), with Kate, it was different. He didn't know how, and that honestly put him off. Perhaps it was good that they would be a teacher and student come tomorrow, that should settle his thoughts.

Kate stood there for a moment, watching him leave before he turned a corner. She disappeared into her new room and closed the door, leaning against it and sliding down.

"Wow…" was the only thing she could say at the moment. She smiled to herself with a newfound giddiness that she hadn't felt for awhile. Days and weeks spent with Arthur, alone, learning how to do magic? If you had told her this morning that this would be her reality, she would have dialed up the nearest mental institution. Yet, here she was.

She couldn't wait!

 **AN: Eeey! So much excitement for this story guys! x3 Please favorite and review, keeps me inspired to write more! ;)**


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: I'M BACK! Sorry I took so long, but life has been crazy! But, here is a nice long chapter for you and hopefully I will update more frequently! Onwards!**

Anna stood just outside the house, leaning against the railing as she spoke with Ivan on her phone.

"Are you sure about this Anya?" Ivan asked. She nodded, then gave a verbal confirmation as she remembered he couldn't see her over the phone. Classic.

"Yeah. It would only just be for a few days until she gets settled, you remember the emotional wreck I was while I was adjusting to all this, right?" she replied. Ivan hummed in response.

"Da… what is wrong kotik? Something is on your mind?" he asked. Anna smiled, Ivan always knew when something was bugging her no matter how hard she tried to cover it up.

"I'm not going to lie, this whole thing recently… it scares me. Hive's been too quiet, Arthur's been acting strange… well, stranger, and now Kate just appears? I don't know, but, I feel that something is going to happen, and it won't be pretty." she admitted quietly, frowning with worry.

"It is strange, da… but I do not think you should worry so much. You should just take care of your friend and if anything goes wrong, just call me! I'll be right there." Ivan encouraged. Anna could hear his smile over the phone and the sentiment made her chuckle.

"Da, of course! I love you Ivan, I'll call you in the morning, okay?" she said, voice going a little timid. Ivan chuckled.

"I love you too, my sunflower. I look forward to your call!"

"Доброй ночи."

"Доброй ночи, Моя любовь…" with that Anna hangs up and walks back into England's house. Walking up to his study, she is not surprised to see him hunched over his desk with only a desklamp on.

"You know, that's bad for your eyes mate." she says, startling Arthur who jumped as he looked up at her.

"Anna! I thought you would go back to the hotel with Russia?" he questioned. Anna shrugged.

"I decided to stay here, if that's alright. I kind of need to look out for Kaitlyn for a couple days, make sure she adjusts. You understand right?" she questioned, not wanting to seem to presumptuous. Arthur nodded.

"No, of course! By all means you're most welcome to stay. Your old room should be right next to hers." Arthur smiled at her. Anna nodded and approached his desk.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"Preparing a sort of curriculum for Miss Kate… This is, rather new to me I'm afraid…" he sighed.

"Hey, it will be fine! Kate is a hard worker." Anna encouraged.

"It's not Kate I'm worried about actually…" he threads his fingers through his hair, the look in his eye causing Anna to frown.

"Are you sure you're feeling up to it?" he merely shrugs in response.

"I honestly cannot say…" Anna nods in understanding and places a hand on his shoulder.

"Well, I'll be here and help wherever I can. Just, don't keep this bottled up okay? Take care of yourself." she smiles at him, even though her eyes are glazed over with worry. Arthur nods.

"I'll do my best, thank you. Go on, get some sleep." he orders, motioning out with his head. Anna laughs and turns to leave.

"Yes mum~" she jokes before leaving his office, heading straight up to her room and face flopping on the bed. Today was just a really long day. Tomorrow…

Who knows?

…

It was Kate who woke up first. At first, she panicked when she first saw her new surroundings, but then yesterday's memories all came flooding back. Looking down at her hands, she smiled at how different they looked animated. Yesterday wasn't a dream after all… she was truly, yet inconceivably, in Hetalia.

And she was going to learn magic from _Arthur!_ Kate couldn't contain the small squeal of excitement as she jumped out of bed and ran over to her wardrobe. She quickly pulled out a dark green, long sleeved casual dress that had flowing sleeves and hugged her curves in all the right places and black leggings to go with black lace up ankle boots with a pointed toe and small heel. The collar bunched around her shoulders and left her collarbone exposed so that she could tie a black choker around her neck. To top of her look, she tied her dark hair into a high bun on her head and let a couple strands frame her face. Perfect.

Unlike Anna, Kate found the kitchen in no time and saw that no one else was there. She still felt terrible about imposing on England so suddenly like this. Maybe, she could do something to show her gratitude? Smiling, she rolled up her sleeves and set to finding where everything was located.

Meanwhile, Arthur had fallen asleep at his desk. He was dreaming about smoke… and fire… in the waking world, he whimpered and twitched as his dream self remembered what it was like to be caught and tied like an animal, set aflame by screaming crowds who cheered as his flesh was burned continuously, only to heal and be burned again. He was screaming, crying, choking- he sat up in his desk, panting and covered in a cold sweat. It took him a moment to realize that he was in his own home, but the smell of smoke still lingered… in fact, it seemed to be getting stronger-

"God dammit Kate!" Anna's voice rang throughout the house, followed by the sound of running footsteps. Arthur quickly got out of his chair and marched over to the door, opening it to a face full of smoke.

"What the devil?" He exclaimed, waving the smoke away from his face as he walked to the kitchen, where the smoke was coming from.

"I swear, I only turned my back away for one second-!" Kate's voice protested.

"Kate, this is why Tris banned you from the kitchen years ago!" Anna's voice retorted. Arthur walked in to see Anna carrying a pan with- _something_ inside of it. Whatever it was, it was charcoal black and quickly tossed in the rubbish bin while Kate opened a window and fanned the smoke away with a tea towel. Arthur cleared his throat to get the girls' attention.

"Engl- I mean, Arthur! Um, I can explain this…" Kate stammered, smoothing out the wrinkles from her dress. Arthur blinked at her attire, he had no idea that the house would provide her wardrobe with such- provocative clothes. Not that he minded all that much, green was a lovely color on her-

Hang on a tick, what was he thinking? Must be the smoke getting to his head, so he cleared his throat again.

"It's quite alright, these things happen all the time. Just, what was it you were trying to do?" Arthur asked, giving Kate a reassuring smile.

"W-Well, I felt really bad about suddenly dropping in on you like this, so I wanted to do something to show my thanks. I thought maybe I could, well, make breakfast…" Kate explained, playing with the edge of her sleeves nervously.

"Miss Kate, you didn't have to do that, really! I'm happy to have you here." Arthur responded. Kate merely sighed, she was a failure to her italian heritage!

"I know but-"

"No 'buts' love, there's no harm done." Arthur comforted, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Well, maybe to none except this pan. It's toast mate." Anna commented, holding up the charred-beyond-repair utensil. Arthur and Kate looked at it with similar expressions of embarrassment and disgust.

"I am a failure to my heritage…" Kate mumbled, a cloud of gloom appearing over her head as she slumped over.

"How about I make breakfast, you two can just relax?" Anna offered, moving to turn off the stove. She started a moment when she saw the fire but shook it off and quickly turned it off.

"Alright, come along Miss Kate, we'll wait in the lounge." Arthur said, guiding Kate out of the kitchen. Kate could only nod dumbly, he must think she was an absolute idiot now! As they entered the lounge, Kate went to a small couch and sat down mechanically, not meeting his eye. Arthur smiled and shook his head.

"Don't you go around beating yourself up about this, I'm sure you know by now that cooking isn't exactly my forte either…" he said after a moment of silence. Kate looked up and smiled nervously.

"Well, I never tried it so I can't really say… but surely you haven't set eggs on fire?" She replied. At his lack of response her eyes widened. "You have?"

"And other things I'm afraid…" Arthur said, rubbing the back of his head nervously "Though to be fair it wasn't my fault! People are just so fussy about what they eat these days, it's ridiculous!" Kate laughed as she moved a strand of hair behind her hair.

"At least your food still ends up being edible."

"Well, most folks would disagree. But, thank you, I appreciate it." Arthur's smile had Kate looking down in an effort to hide her blush when Anna came in.

"Food's ready!" Everyone then went into the kitchen and sat down, Arthur begrudgingly admitting that Anna's cooking was slightly better.

"So Kate, how would you rate your first night in Hetalia then?" Anna asked, smirking slightly. Kate froze mid bite and cleared her throat.

"Well, I still can't believe that I'm here, but it was nice. What about you two?" She asked, looking between Anna and Arthur. Anna shrugged and rubbed the back of her head. Now that Kate got a good look at her, Anna looked terrible. And she learned from past experiences that an Anna who didn't get enough sleep was a force to be reckoned with.

"Not the best if I'm honest, I had a nightmare. I'm fine though, don't worry." Anna dismissed, causing Kate to frown while Arthur paused in his eating.

"Really? What sort of nightmare?" Kate asked. Anna quickly glanced at Arthur who in turn raised a questioning brow before she shrugged.

"Don't remember, kept me up at night. What about you Arthur? Did you manage to get to bed last night?" Anna asked, redirecting the attention to Arthur.

"I- um, well… Not exactly…"

"What do you mean? Are you alright?" Kate asked, her expression growing concerned. Has Arthur not been sleeping?

"Oh, well, I uh-"

"Arthur, did you fall asleep at your desk?" Anna deadpanned. Arthur was cornered, so he simply hung his head and didn't say anything. Kate went wide eyed at the revelation.

"Arthur Kirkland, you should take care of yourself! You'll throw your back out if you keep doing that!" She scolded, surprising the other two at the table with the authoritative tone she took with him. Anna couldn't think of anyone who talked to him in that fashion in the last century! Arthur raised a brow.

"I appreciate the concern, but I assure you I'm quite alright." Arthur stated, sending Kate a particular look that had Anna inching back ever so slightly. She was never comfortable with the battle of the wills... Meanwhile, Arthur had finished his breakfast and moved to clear his place.

""We'll begin your studies in my office upstairs in about an hour, please don't be late." His tone left no room for argument.

"I won't be…" Kate assured, bristling slightly. She was only trying to be sympathetic, why did he get so cold all of the sudden? Before she could say anything else, Arthur left his dishes by the sink and walked out of the kitchen. Anna stared after him a moment before sighing.

"Rule one about Arthur Kate, he usually only takes advice cordially from his closest friends- which isn't many." She reprimanded softly. Kate turned to look at her and scoffed lightly.

"I was just being nice, it's not healthy sleeping like that!"

At least he was sleeping, Anna thought.

"Well Kate, you agreed to be his student- which means there's a certain boundary you have to acknowledge now, understand?" Anna retorted. Even though Kate hated to admit it, Anna was right.

"Yes…" she sighed before resuming eating. Meanwhile, Arthur stood listening outside the door. Perhaps he had been a bit cold with Kate earlier, and he scolded himself for falling back on such ungentlemanly behavior.

 _Oh please, you're no gentleman… what gave her the right to talk to like that?_ A voice sounded in Arthur's head, causing him to snap up in alarm and storm off to his study.

She was showing concern, that's all! He thought back.

 _You give her a place to stay and offer her tutelage, yet she thinks she has some sort of authority over you? We should put her in-_

"NO-! No, you are not welcome…" Arthur growled as he passed a mirror. Out of the corner of his eye, a shadow flickered in the depths of the glass.

 **AN: Ooooh, Iggy's hearing voices... Next up, the magic lessons begin!**


End file.
